Semiconductor structure and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor structure comprises a substrate and a fin extruding from the substrate along a first direction, wherein the fin comprises a first conductive type semiconductive layer over the substrate, a second conductive type semiconductive layer stacking over the first conductive type semiconductive layer along the first direction, and a dielectric layer sandwiched by the first conductive type semiconductive layer and the second conductive type semiconductive layer providing electrical isolation along the first direction between the first conductive type semiconductive layer and the second conductive type semiconductive layer.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experiencedexponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and designhave produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller andmore complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of ICevolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnecteddevices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size(i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using afabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generallyprovides benefits by increasing production efficiency and loweringassociated costs.

Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing andmanufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similardevelopments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed. For example,a three-dimensional transistor, such as a fin-like field-effecttransistor (FinFET), has been introduced to replace a planar transistor.The fin transistor has a channel (referred to as a fin channel)associated with a top surface and opposite sidewalls. The fin channelhas a total channel width defined by the top surface and the oppositesidewalls. Although existing FinFET devices and methods of fabricatingFinFET devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes,they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects. For example, avariation of fin width and profile, especially at an end of the fin,raises challenges in a FinFET process development. It is desired to haveimprovements in this area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isemphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in theindustry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating asemiconductor structure, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 2 to 14 illustrate diagrammatic cross-sectional side views ofvarious embodiments of a semiconductor structure at various stages offabrication, according to the method of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C show an example of the multi-cycle etchingapplied in the method of fabricating a semiconductor structure, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 16A, 16B and 16C illustrate diagrammatic cross-sectional sideviews of each fin of a semiconductor structure, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a fin structure ofthe semiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a fin structure ofthe semiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a fin structure ofthe semiconductor structure in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a fin structure ofthe semiconductor structure in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates a diagrammatic perspective view of the semiconductorstructure in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating asemiconductor structure, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 23 to 25 illustrate diagrammatic cross-sectional side views ofvarious embodiments of a semiconductor structure at various stages offabrication, according to the method of FIG. 22.

FIG. 26 illustrates a cross-sectional top view of a fin structureoverlaid with a dummy gate, according to the method of FIG. 22.

FIG. 27 illustrates a diagrammatic perspective view of the semiconductorstructure in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates a simplified diagrammatic view of the semiconductorstructure in accordance with FIG. 27.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the invention. Specificexamples of components and arrangements are described below to simplifythe present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and arenot intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of a firstfeature over or on a second feature in the description that follows mayinclude embodiments in which the first and second features are formed indirect contact, and may also include embodiments in which additionalfeatures may be formed between the first and second features, such thatthe first and second features may not be in direct contact. In addition,the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters inthe various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicityand clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between thevarious embodiments and/or configurations discussed. Also, thecomponents disclosed herein may be arranged, combined, or configured inways different from the exemplary embodiments shown herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. It is understoodthat those skilled in the art will be able to devise various equivalentsthat, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles ofthe present invention.

Further, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,”“above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. The spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of thedevice in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted inthe figures. The apparatus may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degreesor at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may likewise be interpreted accordingly.

In a typical semiconductor structure, a P-type metal-oxide-semiconductor(PMOS) device and an n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) device areformed separately. Such Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices arebasic building elements in integrated circuits. An existing MOS devicetypically has a gate electrode comprising polysilicon doped with p-typeor n-type impurities, using doping operations such as ion implantationor thermal diffusion. For an NMOS device, the work function may beadjusted nearly that of the conduction band of silicon. For a PMOSdevice, the work function may be adjusted to close to nearly that of thevalence band of silicon. Adjusting the work function of the polysilicongate electrode can be achieved by selecting appropriate impurities.

The feature (e.g., fin) density is important for transistors becausehigher feature density improves the performance of transistors. Toincrease feature density, area scaling technologies, such aslithography-driven pitch scaling or critical dimension (CD) scaling, areemployed. For example, the fins are patterned using one or morephotolithography processes, including double-patterning ormulti-patterning processes. Generally, double-patterning ormulti-patterning processes combine photolithography and self-alignedprocesses, allowing patterns to be created that have, for example,pitches smaller than what is otherwise obtainable using a single, directphotolithography process. However, these area scaling technologies areexpensive and may encounter limitations, such as tunneling effect. Asthe semiconductor industry has progressed into nanometer technologyprocess nodes in pursuit of higher device density, higher performance,and lower costs, alternative strategies for increasing fin density arerequired.

Examples of devices that can benefit from one or more embodiments of thepresent invention are semiconductor devices. The FinFET device may be adual-gate device, tri-gate device, bulk device, silicon-on-insulator(SOI) device, and/or other configuration. One of ordinary skill mayrecognize other examples of semiconductor devices that may benefit fromaspects of the present disclosure. For example, some embodiments asdescribed herein may also be applied to gate-all-around (GAA) devices,Omega-gate (Q-gate) devices, or Pi-gate (I-gate) devices.

Method 100 of forming a semiconductor structure is illustrated in FIG.1, and one or more semiconductor structures formed by such a methodologyare illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 21. It is understood that parts of method100 and/or the semiconductor structure 200 may be fabricated by awell-known complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologyprocess flow, and thus some processes are only briefly described herein.Further, the semiconductor structure 200 may include various otherdevices and features, such as additional transistors, bipolar junctiontransistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, fuses, etc., but issimplified for a better understanding of the inventive concepts of thepresent disclosure. Further, in some embodiments, the semiconductorstructure 200 includes a plurality of semiconductor devices (e.g.,transistors), which may be interconnected.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method 100 for manufacturing a semiconductorstructure according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In thepresent embodiment, Method 100 is for manufacturing a semiconductorstructure that includes a fin structure. The method 100 includes anumber of operations (e.g. 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 and 112). The methodfor manufacturing the semiconductor structure 200 will be furtherdescribed according to one or more embodiments. It should be noted thatthe operations of the method for manufacturing the semiconductorstructure 200 may be rearranged or otherwise modified within the scopeof the various aspects. It should further be noted that additionalprocesses may be provided before, during, and after the method 100, andthat some other processes may only be briefly described herein. Thus,other implementations are possible within the scope of the variousaspects described herein.

FIGS. 2-20 illustrate diagrammatic cross-sectional side views of oneembodiment of semiconductor structure 200 at various stages offabrication, according to the method 100 of FIG. 1. In some embodiments,semiconductor structure 200 includes any fin-based device, includingdouble-gate field effect transistor, tri-gate field effect transistor(TGFET), multi-gate field-effect transistor (MuGFET). FIG. 21illustrates a diagrammatic perspective view of semiconductor structure200 in accordance with the present invention. Semiconductor structure200 may be included in a microprocessor, memory cell, and/or otherintegrated circuit device. FIGS. 2-21 have been simplified for the sakeof clarity to better understand the inventive concepts of the presentdisclosure. Additional features can be added in the semiconductorstructure 200, and some of the features described below can be replacedor eliminated in other embodiments of the semiconductor structure 200.

The method 100 begins at operation 102 where a substrate 210 is providedor received. In some embodiments, the substrate 210 includes a siliconsubstrate (e.g., wafer). The substrate 210 may be silicon in acrystalline structure. In other embodiments, the substrate 210 mayinclude other elementary semiconductors such as germanium in acrystalline structure; a compound semiconductor, such as silicongermanium, silicon carbide, gallium arsenic, gallium phosphide, indiumphosphide, indium arsenide, and/or indium antimonide; or combinationsthereof. In some embodiments, the substrate 210 includes asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The SOI substrate may befabricated using separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX), waferbonding, and/or other suitable methods. The substrate 210 may furtherinclude other suitable features. In some embodiments, the substrate 210can include isolation structures (i.e., shallow trench isolation (STI)structures) (not shown) interposing regions accommodating differentdevices.

At operation 104, with reference to FIG. 2, a first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220 is formed over the substrate 210 and may be aFin field effect transistor (FinFET). For example, a dopant implantation(symbolized by an arrow 300) may be performed to form the firstconductive type semiconductive layer 220. The first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220 may be an n-type doped layer or a p-type dopedlayer. By way of example, a p-type dopant may include boron, aluminum,gallium, indium, or other p-type acceptor material; and an n-type dopantimplanted via the ion implantation process may include arsenic,phosphorous, antimony, or other n-type donor material.

With reference to FIG. 3, when the first conductive type semiconductivelayer 220 is p-type doped, a p-channel layer 230 may be formed over thefirst conductive type semiconductive layer 220 through various methods.In some embodiments, the p-channel layer 230 is formed by an epitaxialgrowth process. In various embodiments, epitaxy technique comprises CVDdeposition technique (such as, vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) and/orultra-high vacuum CVD (UHV-CVD)), molecular beam epitaxy and/or othersuitable technique. In some embodiments, the p-channel layer 230comprises epitaxially grown SiGe (SiGe_(n)), wherein n is the Gecomponent with atomic percentage. In some embodiments, the dopantimplantation may use a dopant that includes germanium so as to form thep-channel layer 230 over the p-type region. The p-channel layer 230 maybe made of Ge-containing materials, such as SiGe, Ge, GeSn and the like.Such germanium implantation may be employed to change the thresholdvoltage of transistors (such as field effect transistors). The thresholdvoltage may be a value of the gate-source voltage when a conductingchannel of the transistor just begins to connect source and draincontacts of the transistor, allowing significant current to flow. In oneexample, the threshold voltage may be changed by controlling a dosage ofthe germanium dopant implantation, where a magnitude of the change inthe threshold voltage may be proportional to the dosage. In this manner,the threshold voltage of the field effect transistor may be tuned bycontrolling aspects of the germanium dopant implantation. In an example,the p-channel layer 230 includes from about 20% to about 50% germanium.In some embodiments, the p-channel layer 230 has a thickness betweenabout 20 nm and about 80 nm. In some embodiments, the p-channel layer230 has a thickness between about 30 nm and about 70 nm. In someembodiments, the p-channel layer 230 has a thickness between about 40 nmand about 60 nm.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, in an alternative embodiment, when thefirst conductive type semiconductive layer 220 is doped with p-typedopants, the substrate 210 may be provided with a recess 211 before thedopant implantation is performed. The recess 211 may be formed byetching the substrate 210. The first conductive type semiconductivelayer 220 is formed under the bottom of the recess 211 and the p-channellayer 230 is formed in the recess 211 by an epitaxial growth process.

With reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C, the method 100 proceeds to operation106 where a dielectric layer 240 is disposed over the first conductivetype semiconductive layer 220 or over the p-channel layer 230. In theembodiments where the recess 211 is formed in the substrate 210 as shownin FIG. 6D, the dielectric layer 240 may be also formed over thep-channel layer 230 in recess 211. For example, the dielectric 240 isformed through deposition of dielectric materials, such as siliconoxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or combinations thereof. Insome embodiments, the dielectric material has a dielectric constant fromabout 3 to about 25. In some embodiments, the dielectric material may beSiO₂, silicon oxynitride, Si₃N₄, HfO₂, ZrO₂ and the like.

In some embodiments, the dielectric layer 240 is made of a low-κdielectric material to improve resistive-capacitive (RC) delay. Thedielectric constant of the low-κ dielectric material is lower than thatof silicon dioxide (SiO₂). One approach to reduce the dielectricconstant of a dielectric material is to introduce carbon (C) or fluorine(F) atoms. For example, in SiO₂ (κ=3.9), the introduction of C atoms toform hydrogenated carbon-doped silicon oxide (SiCOH) (κ is between 2.7and 3.3) and the introduction of F atoms to form fluorosilicate glass(FSG) (κ is between 3.5 and 3.9) reduces its dielectric constant. Insome embodiments, the low-κ dielectric material is, for example,nanopore carbon doped oxide (CDO), black diamond (BD), abenzocyclobutene (BCB) based polymer, an aromatic (hydrocarbon)thermosetting polymer (ATP), hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ), poly-arylene ethers (PAE), diamond-like carbon(DLC) doped with nitrogen, or combinations thereof. The dielectric layer240 is formed by, for example, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), spincoating, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the dielectriclayer 240 has a thickness from about 5 nm to about 50 nm. In someembodiments, the dielectric layer 240 has a thickness from about 10 nmto about 40 nm. In some embodiments, the dielectric layer 240 has athickness from about 10 nm to about 30 nm.

At operation 108, with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7D, formed over thedielectric layer 240 is a second conductive type semiconductive layer250, which may be a Fin field effect transistor (FinFET). In someembodiments, the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 may beepitaxially grown Si. The second conductive type semiconductive layer250 has a type of dopants different from that of the first conductivetype semiconductive layer 220. The second conductive type semiconductivelayer 250 has a thickness from about 20 nm to about 150 nm. In someembodiments, the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 has athickness from about 30 nm to about 120 nm. In some embodiments, thesecond conductive type semiconductive layer 250 has a thickness fromabout 40 nm to about 100 nm.

The method 100 continues with operation 110 where fin structures areformed. Forming the fin structures may include forming a photoresistlayer or a capping layer (such as an oxide capping layer) over thesecond conductive type semiconductive layer 250, patterning thephotoresist or capping layer to have openings that expose portions ofthe stacking structure (including the first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220, the dielectric layer 240, and the secondconductive type semiconductive layer 250 and/or the p-channel layer230), and etching the exposed portions of the stacking structure. Insome embodiments, the stacking structure can be etched using a dryetching process. Alternatively, the etching process is a wet etchingprocess, or combination dry and wet etching process. A photolithographyprocess may be included to facilitate the etching process, which mayinclude photoresist coating (e.g., spin-on coating), soft baking, maskaligning, exposure, post-exposure baking, developing the photoresist,rinsing, drying (e.g., hard baking), other suitable processes, orcombinations thereof. Alternatively, the photolithography process isimplemented or replaced by other methods, such as masklessphotolithography, electron-beam writing, and ion-beam writing. In yetsome other embodiments, the photolithography process could implementnanoimprint technology.

In some embodiments, the fin structures are formed by a photolithographyand etching process. The photolithography and etching process includesapplication of hard mask and photoresist, exposure, developing, etching,and photoresist removal. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9,a mask layer 400 is applied onto the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250 with any suitable thickness and thenphotoresist 500 is applied onto the mask layer 400 by, for example, spincoating. The mask layer 400 may be a hard mask, which includes siliconoxide (such as SiO₂, silicon oxynitride), silicon nitride (such asSi₃N₄), silicon oxynitride, silicon carbide, metal oxide (such as HfO₂,ZrO₂) and/or other suitable materials. The mask layer 400 may be formedusing methods such as CVD or PVD. The mask layer 400 has a thicknessfrom about 20 nm to about 100 nm. The photoresist 500 may be patternedusing any photolithographic techniques. For example, the photoresist 500is irradiated (exposed) in accordance with a desired pattern (thesemiconductor fin structures in this case) and developed to removeportions of the photoresist material. The remaining photoresist 500protects the underlying material from subsequent processing steps, suchas etching. Mask layer 400 is patterned to remove portions uncovered bythe remained photoresist 500 to form a hard mask 401, which may have ahigher density and hardness than the photoresist 500.

The second conductive type semiconductive layer 250, the dielectriclayer 240 and the first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 areetched based on the pattern of the photoresist 500 and the hard mask 401to form a plurality of fins through a plasma ash process (plasma ashingprocessing), a dry etch process (dry ditching process), a wet etchprocess (wet ditching process) or other suitable techniques. Forexample, the dry etch process may be performed with etchants, includingoxygen-containing gas, fluoro-gas (such as CF₄, SF₆, CH₂F₂

CHF₃ or C₂F₆), chlorine-containing gas (such as Cl₂

CHCl₃, CCl₄ or BCl₃), bromine-containing gas (such as HBr and/or CHBr₃),other suitable gases and/or plasma, and/or its combination. For example,a wet etch process can be used with NH₄OH, HF (hydrofluoric acid) or theHF of dilution, deionized water, TMAH (TMAH), other suitable wet etchingsolution.

In some embodiments, a multiple etching process may be performed. Asshown in FIGS. 10 to 14, a first etching is conducted by removingportions of the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250uncovered by the photoresist 500 and the hard mask 401; a second etchingis conducted by removing portions of the dielectric layer 240; and athird etching is conducted by removing portions of the first conductivetype semiconductive layer 220 along with the p-channel layer 230 whenthe p-channel layer 230 is present, so as to form fin structures basedon the patterns of the photoresist 500 and the hard mask 401. Additionaloperation may be performed after the first etching so as to formsacrificial film 610 on the sides of the etched second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250, as shown in FIG. 11. In some embodiments, theformation of sacrificial film 610 is performed by oxidizing the sidewallof the etched second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 to form anoxide layer. After the second etching, sacrificial film 610 may remainunchanged or be removed according to the materials of sacrificial film610, etchants used for the second etching and the like. In someembodiments, sacrificial film 610 is partially removed and leave theetched second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 still covered bythe remained sacrificial film 610.

During formation of sacrificial film 610, several factors areconsidered, for example, the etching selectivity between the sacrificialfilm and the dielectric layer 240. In some embodiments, the etchant usedduring the second etching for carving the dielectric layer 240 isselected to have lower etch rate to the sacrificial film than thedielectric layer 240.

Additional operation may be performed after the second etching to formanother sacrificial film 620 on the sides of both the etched dielectriclayer 240 and the etched second conductive type semiconductive layer250, as shown in FIG. 13. In some embodiments, the formation ofsacrificial film 610 is performed by oxidization. If the priorsacrificial film 610 remained after the second etching, a portion ofsacrificial film 620 is formed on the remained sacrificial film 610 anda portion of sacrificial film 620 is formed on the sidewall of thedielectric layer 240. In such case, sacrificial film 620 may have anon-uniform thickness, which is thicker around the dielectric layer 240and thinner around the sacrificial film 610.

Sacrificial film 620 may remain unchanged or be removed according to thematerials of sacrificial film 620, etchants used for the third etchingand the like. In some embodiments, a portion of sacrificial film 620 maybe removed without exposing the etched second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250 and the etched dielectric layer 240.Sacrificial film 620 has to be thick enough to avoid the exposure of theetched second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 and the etcheddielectric layer 240. Thickness of each of the sacrificial film 610 andthe sacrificial film 620 varies depending on their materials, etchantsused for the second and third etchings and the like. Each of thesacrificial film 610 and 620 may have a thickness in a range from about0.5 nm to about 10 nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of sacrificialfilm 610 and 620 may range from about 1 nm to about 5 nm. Suchsacrificial films 610 and 620 are used to protect the etched secondconductive type semiconductive layer 250 and/or the etched dielectriclayer 240 from the following etching process. The sacrificial film 620may be removed during the third etching or by extra cleaning process.

In some embodiments, each etching is performed with plasma etchingprocess. A gas mixture used in the plasma etching process compriseshalogen-containing gas. In some embodiments, the gas mixture may furthercomprise additives and/or inert gas. The halogen-containing gas may befluorocarbon-based chemistries (C_(x)H_(y)F_(z), where each of x and zis an integer equal to or larger than 1 and y is 0 or an integer equalto or larger than 1), such as CHF₃, CH₃F, C₄F₆, CF₄ and the like;chlorine-based chemistries, such as Cl₂, BCl₃ and the like; orbromine-based chemistries, such as HBr. The additives may be H₂, O₂,CO₂, SiCl₄, etc. and enables the adjustment to better fit a variety ofmaterials to be etched and fin profiles to be obtained. The inert gas,such as He, Ar and the like, may be added for adjusting the constitutionof the gas mixture. The constitution of the gas mixture used in multipleetching steps may vary depending on the materials to be etched.

In some embodiments, in each etching, multi-cycle etching may beimplemented to create a fin profile as desired. FIGS. 15A to 15C show anexample of the multi-cycle etching. The multi-cycle etching comprisesetching a target layer using a gas mixture containing chlorine-basedchemistries or bromine-based chemistries to control the etching depth(FIG. 15A), and then introducing a gas mixture containingfluorocarbon-based chemistries to control the fin profile (FIG. 15B),which is followed by the additional oxidizing process to formsacrificial films (FIG. 15C) as mentioned above.

The fin profile provided by multi-cycle etching may vary depending onthe materials of the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250,the etched dielectric layer 240, the p-channel layer 230 and the firstconductive type semiconductive layer 220, as well as the gas mixturesused for each etching step. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 16A,each fin has a trapezoidal cross section in a vertical direction, inwhich the diameter of the top of the fin (i.e. the top of the secondconductive type semiconductive layer 250 is smaller than that of thebottom of the fin (i.e. the first conductive type semiconductive layer220). In some embodiments, the difference between the diameter of thetop and that of the bottom of the fin is from about 0.5 nm to 3 nm. Insome embodiments, the difference is from about 0.8 nm to 2 nm. In someembodiments, the difference is from about 1 nm to 1.5 nm. In someembodiments, as shown in FIG. 16B, each fin has a three-part profile, inwhich the first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 (and/or thep-channel layer 230) in the fin has a rectangular vertical crosssection, the dielectric layer 240 in the fin has a trapezoidal verticalcross section where the top is smaller or larger than the bottom, andthe second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 has a rectangularvertical cross section.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 16C, each fin has a corrugatedsidewall. The corrugated sidewall has a wavy surface having repetitiverecesses and featured with a peak-to-peak distance d. In one embodiment,the peak-to-peak distance d of at least one of the first and the secondconductive type semiconductive layer is uniform with a deviation withina predetermined value, for example, 10%. The peak-to-peak distance d insome embodiments may range from about 1 nm to about 10 nm. Thepeak-to-peak distance d in some embodiments may range from about 3 nm toabout 8 nm. In some embodiments, the average peak-to-peak distance d infirst conductive type semiconductive layer 220 is different form thesecond conductive type semiconductive layer 250. In some embodiments,the average peak-to-peak distance d in first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220 is greater than the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250. In some embodiments, the average peak-to-peakdistance d in first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 is smallerthan the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250.

In some embodiments, dielectric layer 240 may have an oblate shape withnarrower top and bottom than middle portion. In some embodiments,dielectric layer 240 may have a gourd shape (not shown) with narrowertop, middle and bottom portions than other parts. In some embodiments,corrugation can be partially, for example, at least 50% of the area ofsidewall is corrugated while others are flat. In some embodiments, atleast 70% of the area of sidewall is corrugated. In some embodiments, atleast 90% of the area of sidewall is corrugated.

The photoresist layer 500 and the hard mask 401 are then removed by anysuitable cleaning step, such as ashing, stripping, or other suitabletechnique.

It should be noted that the second conductive type semiconductive layer250 may be doped with n-type dopants or p-type dopants before or afterthe fin structures are formed. In some embodiments, a dopantimplantation is performed onto the second conductive type semiconductivelayer 250 before the fin structures are formed. For example, a p-typedopant may include boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, or other p-typeacceptor material; and an n-type dopant implanted via the ionimplantation process may include arsenic, phosphorous, antimony, orother n-type donor material.

In some embodiments, a dopant implantation is performed onto the secondconductive type semiconductive layer 250 after the fin structures areformed. For example, the dopant implantation may be performed at a tiltangle. The tilt implantation may form a doped region in the secondconductive type semiconductive layer 250 by controlling a dosage and atilt angle θ with respect to the vertical axis. For example, the appliedenergy for the tilt implantation may be from about 10 KeV to about 80KeV and the tilt angle is in a range from about 5° to about 70°. In someembodiments, the applied energy for the tilt implantation may be fromabout 30 KeV to about 70 KeV and the tilt angle is from about 15° toabout 50°, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. In particular, thetilt angle may be chosen to cause an amount of doping at the sidewallportions and the top portions of the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250 of the fin structures to be approximatelyequal. In some examples, the top portions may have a slightly higheramount of doping as compared to the sidewall portions, but thedifference in doping between the top and sidewall portions may besubstantially reduced by selecting a suitable tilt angle.

FIGS. 17 to 20 illustrate various embodiments of the semiconductorstructure in accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 17, asemiconductor structure comprises a substrate 210 and a fin structureextruding from the substrate 210 along a first direction D1. The finstructure comprises the second conductive type semiconductive layer 250stacking over the first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 alongthe first direction D1, and the dielectric layer 240 sandwiched by thefirst conductive type semiconductive layer 220 and the second conductivetype semiconductive layer 250. The dielectric layer 240 provideselectrical isolation along the first direction D1 between the firstconductive type semiconductive layer 220 and the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250. In some embodiments, each fin may have aheight from about 20 nm to about 300 nm. In some embodiments, each finmay have a height from about 50 to about 250 nm. In some embodiments,each fin may have a height from about 70 to about 200 nm. In someembodiments, each fin has a critical dimension (CD) of cross-findirection in a range from about 3 nm to about 60 nm. In someembodiments, each fin has a critical dimension (CD) of cross-findirection in a range from about 5 nm to about 50 nm. The pitch betweentwo adjacent fins is from about 15 nm to about 100 nm. In anotherembodiment, the pitch between two adjacent tower structures is fromabout 20 nm to about 85 nm. In yet another embodiment, the pitch betweentwo adjacent tower structures is from about 25 nm to about 70 nm. Bystacking one conductive type semiconductive layer on another conductivetype semiconductive layer in one single fin structure, higher density oftransistors can be realized and the burden of area scaling for theconventional technique would be eliminated.

FIG. 18 illustrates a semiconductor structure comprising a substrate 210and a fin structure extruding from the substrate 210 along a firstdirection D1. The fin structure comprises the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250, which is an N-type doped layer, stacking overthe first conductive type semiconductive layer 220, which is a P-typedoped layer, along the first direction D1, and the dielectric layer 240sandwiched by the P-type doped layer and the N-type doped layer. TheP-type doped layer further comprises a p-channel layer 230 adjacent tothe dielectric layer 240.

FIG. 19 illustrates a semiconductor structure comprising a substrate 210and a fin structure extruding from the substrate 210 along a firstdirection D1. The fin structure comprises the second conductive typesemiconductive layer 250, which is an P-type doped layer, stacking overthe first conductive type semiconductive layer 220, which is an N-typedoped layer, along the first direction D1, and the dielectric layer 240sandwiched by the N-type doped layer and the P-type doped layer. TheP-type doped layer further comprises a p-channel layer 230 adjacent tothe dielectric layer 240.

FIG. 20 illustrates a semiconductor structure comprising a substrate 210and a fin structure extruding from the substrate 210 along a firstdirection D1. The substrate 210 has a silicon-on-insulator (SOI)structure with an insulator layer 210 a in the substrate 210. Anexemplary insulator layer 210 a may be a buried oxide layer (BOX). Insome embodiments, the insulator layer 210 a has a thickness from about50 nm to about 5 μm. In some embodiments, the insulator layer 210 a hasa thickness from about 100 nm to about 3 μm.

At operation 112, in which a conductive rail is formed over a portion ofthe fin structure. In some embodiments, a dummy gate structure may beformed over a portion of the fin structure. In some embodiments, eachdummy gate structure is comprised of a dielectric layer and a dummy gateelectrode. The dielectric layer may comprise silicon oxide, siliconoxynitride, high-k dielectric materials or a combination thereof. Insome embodiments, the dummy gate electrode includes a single layer ormultilayer structure. In the present embodiment, the dummy gateelectrode includes polysilicon. The dummy gate structure may be formedby depositing materials of the dielectric layer and the dummy gateelectrode over the substrate in a blanket manner. The deposition stepmay include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition(CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) or other suitable methods. Aphotoresist (not shown) is formed over the deposited materials andpatterned. An etching operation is performed to transfer the features ofthe patterned photoresist to the underlying layers so as to form thedummy gate structure. In an embodiment, the dummy gate structureincludes additional dielectric layers or conductive layers, e.g., hardmask layers, interfacial layers, capping layers or combinations thereof.

An etch stop layer (ESL) is then formed over the dummy gate structures.The ESL may include silicon nitride, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitrideor other suitable materials. The ESL may be formed using any suitableoperation, such as PVD, CVD or ALD. In some embodiments, the ESL is acontact etch stop layer (CESL) including silicon nitride.

A planarization operation is performed to remove excess portions of theESL layer. The planarization operation may include a chemical mechanicalpolish (CMP) operation or mechanical grinding. The top surfaces of thedummy gate electrodes are exposed accordingly. In an embodiment, the topsurfaces of the ESL layer and the dummy gate electrode are leveled bythe planarization operation.

A metal gate structure for the respective fin structures is formed inplace of the corresponding dummy gate structures. Initially, each dummygate electrode is removed from the respective dummy gate structure. Thedummy gate electrode may be removed in an etching operation, such as awet etch, a dry etch or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thedielectric layer is removed during the etching of the dummy gateelectrode. In an embodiment, the wet etch operation for the dummy gateelectrode includes exposure to a hydroxide containing solution (e.g.,ammonium hydroxide), deionized water, or other suitable etchantsolutions.

As shown in FIG. 21, in a FinFET device, a conductive rail lines alongthe second conductive type semiconductive layer 250 and extending on asecond direction (D2) perpendicular to the first direction. A gateelectrode 720 is adjacent to three side surfaces of a fin structure witha gate dielectric layer 710 interposed therebetween, so the methodfurther includes forming a gate dielectric layer 710 and forming a gateelectrode 720 including at least one barrier layer formed over the gatedielectric layer 710 and an oxide layer over the barrier layer. The gatedielectric layer 710 is formed over the fin structures. The gatedielectric layer 710 comprises two dielectric portions 710 a and 710 cand an isolation portion 710 b sandwiched by the both dielectricportions 710 a and 710 c. The dielectric portions 710 a and 710 c andthe isolation portion 710 b correspond to the first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220, the second conductive type semiconductivelayer 250 and the dielectric layer 204, respectively. The dielectricportions 710 a and 710 c may be formed of a high-k dielectric material,such as hafnium oxide (HfO₂), hafnium silicon oxide (HfSiO), hafniumsilicon oxynitride (HfSiON), hafnium tantalum oxide (HfTaO), hafniumtitanium oxide (HfTiO), hafnium zirconium oxide (HfZrO), metal oxides,metal nitrides, metal silicates, transition metal-oxides, transitionmetal-nitrides, transition metal-silicates, oxynitrides of metals, metalaluminates, zirconium silicate, zirconium aluminate, zirconium oxide,titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, hafnium dioxide-alumina (HfO₂—Al₂O₃)alloy, other suitable high-k dielectric materials, or combinationsthereof. Alternatively, the dielectric portions 710 a and 710 c mayinclude silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride or silicon oxide. In someembodiments, the gate dielectric layer 710 may be formed using PVD, CVDor other suitable deposition methods. In some embodiments, the isolationportion 710 b is made of materials as those used for the dielectriclayer 240, such as a low-κ dielectric material, including nanoporecarbon doped oxide (CDO), black diamond (BD), a benzocyclobutene (BCB)based polymer, an aromatic (hydrocarbon) thermosetting polymer (ATP),hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ), methyl silsesquioxane (MSQ), poly-aryleneethers (PAE), diamond-like carbon (DLC) doped with nitrogen, orcombinations thereof.

The barrier layer is formed over the gate dielectric layer 710 andintends to protect the gate dielectric layer 710 from metal impuritiesintroduced in later steps. For example, in some embodiments, the gatestructures will be formed to include one or more work function metallayers. Without the barrier layer, metal materials from those workfunction metal layers would diffuse into the gate dielectric layer 710,causing manufacturing defects. In various embodiments, the barrier layerincludes a metal element. In some embodiments, the barrier layerincludes tantalum nitride. In another embodiment, the barrier layerincludes titanium nitride. In yet another embodiment, the barrier layerincludes niobium nitride. Various other materials are suitable. In someembodiments, the barrier layer may be formed by ALD, PVD, CVD, or othersuitable methods. In the present embodiment, the barrier layer has athickness about 5 Å to about 20 Å.

It has been observed that, in some instances, the barrier layer alonemay not provide sufficient protection to the gate dielectric layer. Inone instance, multiple metal patterning processes are performed to forma work function metal layer over the barrier layer. This may be for finetuning threshold voltage (Vt) of the FinFETs, as an example.

An oxide layer may be formed over the barrier layer by a variety ofprocesses. In an embodiment, the oxide layer is formed by treating thebarrier layer with a flow of oxygen. To further this embodiment, thebarrier layer and the oxide layer contain a common metal element. In anembodiment, the barrier layer includes tantalum nitride and the oxidelayer includes tantalum oxide. In another embodiment the barrier layerincludes titanium nitride and the oxide layer includes titanium oxide.In yet another embodiment, the barrier layer includes niobium nitrideand the oxide layer includes niobium oxide. In an embodiment, oxygentreatment of the barrier layer is performed in a dry etching tool.Alternatively, it may be performed in a dry ashing tool. In anembodiment, the oxygen treatment is performed under a pressure of about1.5 mTorr, at a temperature of about 30° C. to about 60° C., with anoxygen flow of about 1 to about 100 mL/min, such as about 30 mL/min, andfor about 5 to about 30 seconds. The oxide layer may be formed to about5 Å to about 20 Å. However, other thickness may also be suitable.

In another embodiment, the oxide layer may be formed by one or moredeposition processes. To further this embodiment, the barrier layer andthe oxide layer may contain the same or different metal elements. Forexample, a layer of tantalum oxide (e.g., Ta₂O₅) may be deposited overthe barrier layer under a pressure of about 1 to about 100 Torr, at atemperature of about 250° C. to about 400° C., and with tantalumtetraethoxy dimethylaminoethoxide as precursor gas and argon as carriergas. For example, the flow rate of the precursor gas may be set to about20 standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm). In embodiments,deposition of titanium oxide or niobium oxide may be similarlyperformed. However, other suitable deposition techniques can also beused.

The gate electrode 720 comprising the barrier layer and oxide layer, inconformity with the dielectric portions 710 a and 710 c and theisolation portion 710 b of the dielectric layer, is separated into twoconductive portions 720 a and 720 b and an isolation portion 720 csandwiched between the conductive portions 720 a and 720 b.

Method 1000 of forming a semiconductor structure is illustrated in FIG.22, and one or more semiconductor structures formed by such amethodology are illustrated in FIGS. 23 to 28. The method 1000 includesa number of operations (e.g. 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007and 1008). It should be noted that similar elements in FIGS. 2 to 21 andFIGS. 23 to 28 are designated by the same numerals, and can includesimilar materials, therefore those details are omitted in the interestof brevity. Method 1000 begins at operation 1001 where a substrate 210is provided or received, which is followed by operation 1002 for forminga first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 over the substrate 210.In some embodiments, operations 1001 and 1002 are similar to operations102 and 104 as described above.

At operation 1003, with reference to FIG. 23, a sacrificial layer 290 isformed over the first conductive type semiconductive layer 220 throughvarious methods before forming a second conductive type semiconductivelayer 250 over the sacrificial layer 290 at operation 1004, so that thesacrificial layer 290 is sandwiched between the first conductive typesemiconductive layer 220 and the second conductive type semiconductivelayer 250. The sacrificial layer 290 may be made of Ge-containingmaterials, such as SiGe, Ge, GeSn and the like. In some embodiments, thesacrificial layer 290 may be made of SiGe. The method 1000 continueswith operation 1005 where fin structures are formed. The fin structuresmay be fabricated using suitable operations including photolithographyand etch operations. In some embodiments, operation 1005 is similar tooperation 110 described above.

Method 1000 proceeds to operation 1006 where a plurality of notches 291are formed beside the sacrificial layer 290 in the fin structure asshown in FIG. 23 before a plurality of inner spacers 292 are formed inthe notches 291 as shown in FIG. 24.

At operation 1007, in which a conductive rail is formed over a portionof the fin structure. In some embodiments, a dummy gate structure isdisposed over the fin structure and the substrate 210. The dummy gatestructure may be replaced at a later processing stage by a high-Kdielectric layer (HK) and metal gate electrode (MG). In someembodiments, the dummy gate structure is formed over the substrate 210and extended along a second direction D2, which is not parallel with thefirst direction D1 as shown in FIG. 25. As shown in FIG. 26, the dummygate structure 801 is at least partially disposed over the finstructure, and some portions of the fin structure underlying the dummygate structure 801 may be referred to as channel regions. The dummy gatestructure 801 may also define a source region S and a drain region D ofthe fin structures, for example, as portions of the fin structureadjacent to and on opposing sides of the channel regions. In someembodiments, the dummy gate structure 801 may include at least apolysilicon layer and a patterned hard mask for defining the dummy gatestructure.

Method 1000 continues with operation 1008 where the sacrificial layer290 with inner spacers 292 are removed and the dummy gate 801 isreplaced with metal gate 800, so the semiconductor structure as shown inFIG. 27 comprises the substrate 210, a metal gate 800 formed over thesubstrate 210, a plurality of the first conductive type semiconductivelayers 220 and a plurality of the second conductive type semiconductivelayers 250 where the first conductive type semiconductive layers 220 andthe second conductive type semiconductive layers 250 are separated bythe metal gate 800. In this manner, all side surfaces of channel regionsof the fin structures are surrounded by gate structures, which allowsfor fully depletion in the channel region and results in fewershort-channel effects due to a steeper sub-threshold current swing (SS)and smaller drain-induced barrier lowing (DIBL).

In some embodiments, the gate structure 800 defines a source region Sand a drain region D of the fin structures as shown in FIG. 26. Thefirst conductive type semiconductive layers 220 is an n-type doped layerand the second conductive type semiconductive layers 250 is a p-typedoped layer. As shown in FIG. 28, the first conductive typesemiconductive layers 220, the second conductive type semiconductivelayers 250 and the gate 800 are respectively connected to the supplies(Vdd/Vss).

In some embodiments, methods 100, 1000 may continue to provide steps offabricating other features of semiconductor elements, including, forexample, forming contact, interconnect structures, and/or other suitableprocesses and features.

Additional steps can be provided before, during, and after the methods100, 1000, and some of the steps described can be replaced or eliminatedfor other embodiments of the method. The discussion that followsillustrates various embodiments of a semiconductor structure that can befabricated according to method 100 of FIG. 1 or method 1000 of FIG. 22.

In the present disclosure, a semiconductor structure comprises asubstrate and a fin extruding from the substrate along a firstdirection, wherein the fin comprises a first conductive typesemiconductive layer over the substrate, a second conductive typesemiconductive layer stacking over the first conductive typesemiconductive layer along the first direction, and a dielectric layersandwiched by the first conductive type semiconductive layer and thesecond conductive type semiconductive layer providing electricalisolation along the first direction between the first conductive typesemiconductive layer and the second conductive type semiconductivelayer.

In some embodiments, a semiconductor structure comprises a substrate; afirst conductive type Fin field effect transistor (FinFET) over thesubstrate; a second conductive type FinFET stacking over the firstconductive type FinFET along a first direction; a dielectric layerproviding isolation between the first conductive type FinFET and thesecond conductive type FinFET along the first direction; and aconductive rail lining along the second conductive type FinFET andextending on a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor structurecomprises providing a substrate; and forming a fin structure over thesubstrate comprising stacking a first conductive type semiconductivelayer, a dielectric layer and a second conductive type semiconductivelayer along a first direction.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that thoseskilled in the art may better understand the aspects of the presentdisclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they mayreadily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifyingother processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein.Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure, and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps,presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantiallythe same function or achieve substantially the same result as thecorresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according tothe present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended toinclude within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

1. A semiconductor structure, comprising: a substrate; and a finextruding from the substrate along a first direction, wherein the fincomprises a first conductive type semiconductive layer over thesubstrate, a second conductive type semiconductive layer stacking overthe first conductive type semiconductive layer along the firstdirection, and a dielectric layer sandwiched by the first conductivetype semiconductive layer and the second conductive type semiconductivelayer providing electrical isolation along the first direction betweenthe first conductive type semiconductive layer and the second conductivetype semiconductive layer.
 2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1,wherein the dielectric layer is made of a material with a dielectricconstant from about 3 to about
 25. 3. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 1, wherein the fin has a trapezoidal or rectangular cross sectionin vertical direction.
 4. The semiconductor structure of claim 1,wherein at least 50% of the area of sidewall of the fin is corrugated.5. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the fin has acorrugated sidewall with a plurality of recesses and each recess has adiameter ranging from about 1 nrm to about 10 nm.
 6. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer has an oblate shapewith narrower top and bottom than middle portion.
 7. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer has a gourd shape. 8.The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the first conductivetype semiconductive layer in the fin has a rectangular vertical crosssection, the dielectric layer in the fin has a trapezoidal verticalcross section, and the second conductive type semiconductive layer has arectangular vertical cross section.
 9. A semiconductor structure,comprising; a substrate; a first conductive type Fin field effecttransistor (FinFET) over the substrate; a second conductive type FinFETstacking over the first conductive type FinFET along a first direction;a dielectric layer providing isolation between the first conductive typeFinFET and the second conductive type FinFET along the first direction;and a conductive rail lining along the second conductive type FinFET andextending on a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.10. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein the dielectric layeris made of a material with a dielectric constant from about 3 to about25.
 11. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein one of the firstconductive type FinFET and the second conductive type FinFET comprises ap-channel layer adjacent to the dielectric layer.
 12. The semiconductorstructure of claim 11, further comprising an inner spacer surroundingthe p-channel layer.
 13. The semiconductor structure of claim 11,wherein the p-channel layer has a thickness between about 20 nm andabout 80 nm.
 14. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein thedielectric layer has a thickness from about 10 nm to about 30 nm and thesecond conductive type FinFET has a thickness from about 20 nm to about150 nm.
 15. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein theconductive rail comprises two dielectric portions and an isolationportion sandwiched by the both dielectric portions and; and thedielectric portions and the isolation portion correspond to the firstconductive type FinFET, the second conductive type FinFET and thedielectric layer, respectively.
 16. A method of manufacturing asemiconductor structure, comprising: providing a substrate; and forminga fin structure over the substrate comprising stacking a firstconductive type semiconductive layer, a dielectric layer and a secondconductive type semiconductive layer along a first direction.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein forming the fin structure further comprisesetching the second conductive type semiconductive layer, etching thedielectric layer, and etching the first conductive type semiconductivelayer.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein before etching the dielectriclayer, a sacrificial film is formed surrounding the second conductivetype semiconductive layer; and before etching the first conductive typesemiconductive layer, a sacrificial film is formed surrounding thesecond conductive type semiconductive layer and the dielectric layer.19. The method of claim 16, further comprising forming a conductive railover a portion of the fin structure, wherein the conductive rail linesalong the second conductive type semiconductive layer and extends on asecond direction perpendicular to the first direction.
 20. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the dielectric layer is made of a material with adielectric constant from about 3 to about 25.